Tank Landing Ship

Bren Gun Carriers being loaded at Bone Harbour through the bow doors of HMS Bachaquero
Class overview
Name:	LST Maracaibo class
Builders:	Furness Shipbuilding Company, Haverton Hill-on-Tees
Operators:	Royal Navy
Succeeded by:	Boxer
Completed:	3 (Misoa, Tasajera & Bachaquero)
General characteristics
Tonnage:	4,800 long tons (4,877 t) GRT
Length:	382 ft (116 m)
Beam:	64 ft
Draught:	Fully laden : 15 ft (4.6 m) aft 4 ft (1.2 m) forward
Ramps:	Double hinged ramp, effective length of 100 ft (30 m)
Propulsion:	Reciprocating steam engine, 2 shafts, 3,000 shp
Capacity:	18 × 30 ton tanks or 22 × 25 ton tanks or 33 × 3-ton trucks
Troops:	Berths for 217 troops
Complement:	98 Combined Operations personnel
Armament:	1 × twin 40 mm gun 6 × 20 mm guns 3 × Lewis guns 2 × 4 in (100 mm) smoke mortars
Notes:	Equipment: 2 × 50 ton derrick cranes

Boxer as Fighter Direction Ship
Class overview
Name:	LST (1) Boxer class
Builders:	Harland and Wolff
Operators:	Royal Navy
Preceded by:	Maracaibo
Succeeded by:	LST (2)
Completed:	3 (Boxer, Bruiser, Thruster)
General characteristics
Type:	Landing Ship, Tank Mark I
Displacement:	3,620 long tons (3,678 t) standard 5,410 long tons (5,497 t) full load
Length:	400 ft (120 m)
Beam:	49 ft (15 m)
Draught:	14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
Propulsion:	Steam turbines, 2 shafts, 7,000 shp (5,200 kW)
Speed:	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) laden to beaching draught 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) at deep
Range:	9,000 nmi (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Capacity:	13 Churchill tanks or 20 medium tanks, 27 vehicles on upper deck, 193 men
Complement:	169
Armament:	4 × QF 2 pdr 8 × 20 mm Oerlikon 2 × 4-inch smoke mortars
Notes:	Equipment: 1 × 40 ton crane

LST-942 underway soon after completion, late in 1944
Class overview
Name:	LST (2)
Operators:	United States Navy  Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy
Subclasses:	LST-1 class LST-491 class LST-542 class
Completed:	c. 1000
General characteristics
Displacement:	1,780 long tons (1,809 t) light 3,880 long tons (3,942 t) full load
Length:	327 ft 9 in (99.90 m)
Beam:	50 ft (15 m)
Draught:	Unloaded : 3 ft 4 in (1.02 m) bow 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) stern Loaded : 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m) bow 14 ft 1 in (4.29 m) stern
Propulsion:	2 × General Motors 12-567 diesel engines, two shafts, twin rudders
Speed:	12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Boats & landing craft carried:	2 to 6 LCVPs
Troops:	About 140 officers and other ranks
Complement:	8 to 10 officers, 100 to 115 enlisted
Armament:	1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun 6 × 40 mm Bofors guns 6 × 20 mm guns 2 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns 4 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns

Landing Ship, Tank (LST), or tank landing ship, is the naval designation for vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore.

The first tank landing ships were built to British requirements by converting existing ships, then the British and US collaborated upon a joint design. Over 1,000 LSTs were laid down in the United States during World War II for use by the Allies. Eighty more were built in the United Kingdom and Canada.

The British evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 demonstrated to the Admiralty that the Allies needed relatively large, ocean-going ships that could handle shore-to-shore delivery of tanks and other vehicles in amphibious assaults upon the continent of Europe. As an interim measure, three 4,000- to 4,800-GRT tankers, built to pass over the restrictive bars of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, were selected for conversion because of their shallow draft. Bow doors and ramps were added to these ships, which became the first tank landing ships, "LST (1)": HMS Misoa, Tasajera and Bachaquero. They later proved their worth during the invasion of Algeria in 1942, but their bluff bows made for inadequate speed and pointed out the need for an all-new design incorporating a sleeker hull.

The first purpose-built LST design was HMS Boxer. It was a scaled-down design from ideas penned by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In order that it could carry 13 Churchill infantry tanks, 27 other vehicles and nearly 200 men (in addition to the crew) at a speed of 18 knots, it could not have a shallow draught sufficient for easy unloading. As a result, each of the three (Boxer, Bruiser, and Thruster) ordered in March 1941 had a very long ramp stowed behind the bow doors.